Robot 6

Comic-Con | Lori Weisberg provides a reminder, and a primer, for online registration for Comic-Con International, which goes live Saturday at 9 a.m. Pacific. Registration is for daily passes and four-day memberships without Preview Night. Those with the Wednesday preview sold out on the final day of the 2010 convention (more could be released later, depending on returns and cancellations). Prices have increased slightly, from $100 to $105 for four-day memberships and from $35 to $37 for single-day passes ($20 for Sunday) — plus a $2 processing fee for each badge. Comic-Con will be held July 20-24 in San Diego. [San Diego Union-Tribune]

Retailing | Responding to reports that Borders Group may file for bankruptcy as early as next week, a spokeswoman asserts the struggling book chain intends to stay in business. “Our goal is to have a strong Borders for the long term, ” Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis said. “As such, Borders is involved in discussions with multiple parties – including lenders, vendors, landlords and other business partners – to determine the route that will provide it with the best opportunity to move forward with its business strategy.” [The Plain Dealer]

Publishing | Brian Truitt looks at the popularity of Kevin Keller, Archie Comics’ first gay character, who’ll receive his own miniseries in June. “When you’re at different shows and conventions, and people come right up to you and talk to you about it, that’s when it really hits you how much the character has affected people,” creator Dan Parent says. “It’s all fantastic.” [USA Today]

Creators | Eric Powell has removed a video he released last week that called for fans and creators to support and produce more creator-owned work, explaining his “attempt to draw attention to the lopsided tendencies of our industry has clearly become a divisive force instead of the unifying positive one I intended it to be.” [Facebook, via iFanboy]

Creators | Mexican cartoonist Rafael Barajas Durán, who uses the pseudonym El Fisgón, claims that Banamex, the country’s second-largest bank, canceled his 10-year-old account after he drew a series of cartoons lampooning the bank industry. Banamex contends it’s because he didn’t respond to letters requesting that he update his account information. [The Narcosphere]

Creators | Alex Zalben talks at length with J. Michael Straczynski about the sequel to Superman: Earth One, his move from monthly comics to graphic novels, his abbreviated runs on Wonder Woman and Superman, and criticism that he doesn’t finish the titles he starts: “This perception has kind of taken on a life of its own, and it doesn’t seem to matter what the actual facts are. It’s become like those who don’t believe in climate change, you can point to contrary evidence all you want, they won’t budge. In addition to finishing Rising Stars and Midnight Nation, I did eight or nine years on Spider-Man, did such miniseries as Bullet Points, Strange, Silver Surfer Requiem … I’ve written hundreds of published comics. And the lion’s share of it came out on time.” [MTV Geek]